Wally Hammond

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Wally Hammond
England (Eng)
Wally Hammond
Batting style Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling type Right arm medium fast
Tests First-class
Matches 85 634
Runs scored 7,249 50,551
Batting average 58.45 56.10
100s/50s 22/24 167/185
Top score 336* 336*
Balls bowled 7,969 51,579
Wickets 83 732
Bowling average 37.80 30.58
5 wickets in innings 2 22
10 wickets in match 0 3
Best bowling 5-36 9-23
Catches/stumpings 110/0 820/3

Test debut: 24 December 1927
Last Test: 25 March 1947
Source: [1]

Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond (born June 19, 1903 in Dover, Kent, died July 1, 1965 in Kloof, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa was an English cricketer, who played for Gloucestershire and England, primarily as a batsman, in a career that straddled (and was disrupted by) the Second World War. His Test batting average of 58.45 presently stands eighth in the all-time list. Hammond's 336 not out against New Zealand in 1933 was the highest Test innings score, until passed by Len Hutton's 364 against Australia five years later.

Hammond is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the history of cricket: his Wisden obituary put him in a class with W G Grace, Jack Hobbs and Don Bradman. On the centenary of his birth the Wisden Cricinfo website's editor ranked him second only to Bradman. "The Don" was five years his junior and the comparisons apparently rankled with Hammond for years. Apart from his batting talents, he was one of the best slip fielders in the game and also a useful right-arm medium-fast bowler.

Hammond started his career as a professional but became an amateur in 1938, allowing him to captain England, a position to which professionals were not then appointed. He also captained both Gentlemen and Players. He retired from the captaincy, and from cricket, after a disappointing tour of Australia in 1946-7, in which he was comprehensively outshone by Bradman.

After 1946-7 Hammond only played two more first-class games, for MCC in 1950 and Gloucestershire in 1951. He emigrated to South Africa, where he died in 1965.

Wally Hammond's career performance graph.
Enlarge
Wally Hammond's career performance graph.


English batsman with a Test batting average over 50
Ken Barrington | Denis Compton | Wally Hammond | Jack Hobbs | Len Hutton | Eddie Paynter | Herbert Sutcliffe | Ernest Tyldesley
Preceded by:
Walter Robins
English national cricket captain
1938-1946/7 (Interrupted by Second World War)
Succeeded by:
Norman Yardley

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